Spring salad

If I look back over my posts for the previous year, it seems I've made both a Summer salad and an Autumnal version. This makes me feel good, as it implies that I've really embraced the seasonal eating philosophy and produced two quite different salads, reflective of the Seasons. The Summer one was bright and colourful with a mix of crunchy, crisp vegetables and sweet soft roasted beets etc. while the Fall version, although no less colourful, was of a richer hue with a softer texture, more jewel like. Both salads used vegetables that had been roasted to tease out their flavour (or change it in the case of the radishes). This one, using Spring produce is very similar to the Summer version in what's been used, only mostly everything is raw, with a few Spring ingredients blanched to reach tenderness and then pan fried in butter for a creamy and savoury flavour. I don't really know if that says anything about the actual season itself, I can't really think of any insightful and witty metaphors to use, so I'll just say it's an interesting combination of textures and tastes that highlights the new growth of Spring best eaten without too much mucking about.

Recipe : Spring salad & classic mustard vinaigrette

As I mentioned earlier, this salad is mostly raw with a few added ingredients briefly blanched to retain crispness and colour and then quickly fried in butter and oil. I find that cubes of Cheddar or Swiss cheese elevate anything they are mixed with, whether it's a packet of ready salted crisps (chips), or something more elaborate like this.

a handful of baby spinach leaves

1/4 English cucumber, cut into small chunks

8 small flavourful tomatoes, halved

1 large or 3 small bell peppers, seeded and finely sliced

4 radishes, cut into small dice

a 1 inch chunk of cheese, cut into small dice

1 tsp oil and 1 tbsp butter

5 asparagus stalks, snapped free of their woody ends

6 mushrooms, sliced

a handful of kale leaves, cut free of the stalks

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

First, bring a large pan of salted water to a boil over medium heat and blanch the asparagus for about 2 minutes until bright green and slightly tender, drain. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the asparagus, mushrooms and kale. Fry, stirring constantly, until a little browned on the edges and softened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Mix all the other salad ingredients together in a large bowl and add the cooled asparagus, mushrooms and kale. Mix well and dress with the vinaigrette, (recipe follows). 

 

Recipe : Mustard vinaigrette

If I'm honest, I usually dress salads with a drizzle of oil, balsamic or apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper. Somewhat under dressed really. This beauty of a salad deserved some finer attire and so I looked up and made this classic dressing.

From All Recipes.com

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp salt

2 tsp minced garlic

1 cup olive oil

Mix everything together, whisking gently with a fork until well combined and emulsified. Pour over the salad. I found this was also a great sauce poured over pork, the tangy sharpness a good match with the richness.